Joel Robuchon (Las Vegas)

Joel Robuchon, in the MGM Grand, is Vegas’ only Michelin-rated 3 star restaurant. My expectations when I went here were decidedly high.

The interior of the restaurant is one of the most opulent I have ever seen: rich purple velvet couches covered with cushions, an elaborate chandelier, huge mirrors, gold decorations. It was at once both overwhelmingly rich and surprisingly cozy, having seating for maybe 50-60 people at capacity.

We were seated at a lovely corner table and brought glasses of champagne. We had decided on the 16-course Menu Degustation long before our arrival.

One thing I have to make note of is the service. It was impeccable. During my time there I was waited on by at least 8 different servers, and a sommelier. I think the ratio of staff to diners was almost 1:1. Neither my water or wine glass ever got close to being empty and someone was always close by whenever we needed anything. The food was brought out at an excellent pace. It wasn’t at all rushed, but we also were never kept waiting too long. Towards the end of the meal the wait staff seemed to know when I was starting to get full and gave a little extra time between courses.

Before any of the courses were brought out, one of the waiters came around with the bread cart. Yes, bread cart. It was amazing and I’m upset I didn’t remember to take a picture (you can see one here though). Of the dozen different breads available I tried two: bacon bread and Gruyere brioche. The bacon bread was fantastically flavourful and the brioche was soft and delicious. I wanted to try more but I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat my meal if I did. After the bread cart came the first course.

Le Caviar – Caviar with fennel cream and crab meat

The crab meat was sweet and creamy and complimented perfectly by the briny caviar. I love the way caviar bursts in your mouth, this was an excellent start to the meal that really whet my appetite for the courses to come.

I started off with the tomato gelee. It was the most intense, fresh-tasting tomato I’ve ever had. The mozzarella inside the tomato complimented it well and balanced the acidity with creamy smoothness. This was one of my favorites of the meal. The blancmange was delicate and nicely punctuated by the freshness of the asparagus and tomatoes served with it. The cilantro gazpacho on the other hand I was not a fan of. Cilantro has a very strong, bitter taste and does not, in my opinion, make a good primary ingredient. It was one of the few misses of the meal.

I loved this. Cutting into the ravioli, the quail egg was perfectly runny and rich. The chanterelles were amazingly flavourful and the spinach foam added an interesting texture. The combination of the three flavours was heavenly.

Sea urchin is another food I had never tried before.It had the strangest texture – not bad strange, just completely unexpected. It was light and airy while tasting quite rich. The mocha foam added a nice kick. The lobster was a little on the tough side. The coral broth was tasty, the best part was the shrimp dumpling.

At the end of such a large meal this was a little too rich for me. The coffee mousse was very nice but I found the rest of the dish very heavy.

Mignardises

Once all the courses were finished, a waiter brought around a cart of at least two dozen varieties of bite-sized desserts. My favorite was the strawberry cheesecake wrapped in white chocolate.

This was the most decadent, over-the-top meal I’ve ever had. Although there were a couple dishes that didn’t quite work for me, the ones that did were outstanding in both taste and presentation. This was a very expensive meal, but I’m glad to have experienced it. If you want to impress a foodie, take them to Joel Robuchon.